The Valentine's Day Dance
by loj
Summary: Lockhart's back and he's planned a Valentine's Day Dance. Can Harry muster up the courage to ask Luna to the dance? HL with a side of RHr. First fanfic-Please read!
1. Default Chapter

Harry sat at the edge of the lake peering out over it. He had been coming here a lot lately to think. Recently, he had been thinking about one thing and one thing only: Valentine's Day. It was only three days away, and he seemed to be the only one without out a date to the upcoming Valentine's Day Dance. The dance was Professor Lockhart's newest bright idea. Yes, Lockhart. He had been released from St. Mungo's over the summer and Dumbledore had hired him back as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

The dance had only been announced a few days ago, but people were already pairing up. If he didn't ask someone soon, he wouldn't have a date at all! He racked his brains, trying to think of someone he could ask. Well, there was always Parvati, but she hated him after the Yule Ball. Then there was Lavender, but she was already going with Seamus. There was also Ginny, but he didn't think of her as more then a friend and it'd probably be too weird going with her. He was running out of ideas about who to ask.

"Hello, Harry" a voice called from behind him, and he turned around to find Luna strolling across the grounds of Hogwarts towards him.

"Hey, Luna," he said back. She sat down next to him. Harry noticed that she was still wearing her famous radish earrings that he had grown to love.

"It's really beautiful out here," she commented. Harry followed her gaze out over the lake. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was ablaze with bright blues and purples and oranges.

"Yeah, it's so peaceful too. That's why I come out here so much," he said.

"Maybe I should start joining you," she commented.

"That would be nice," Harry said, and he realized that those words had come from his heart.

"Really?" she asked.

"Definitely," he replied. Harry suddenly realized that he had actually fallen for Luna. Now he knew who he wanted to ask to the dance. If only he could just spit out the words.

Harry and Luna sat in silence gazing over the lake at the sunset. Harry occasionally stole glances at Luna. She looked so peaceful just sitting there, like she was lost in her own little world. He made up his mind that he would ask her tonight

"Umm…Luna?" Harry asked after many moments of silence.

"Yes?" She asked as the clock chimed nine times.

"W…Its time to go," he said, chickening out at the last moment.

"Your right," she said. Harry stood up and held out his hand to help her up.

"I'll walk you to your common room," he told her.

"But you'll get caught!" she said.

"Not will this," he showed her the invisibility cloak. "Come on, get under it."

Luna situated herself under the cloak and they began the slow walk to the castle. Harry found that he didn't mind being this close to Luna. He could smell the vanilla shampoo in her hair and decided it was his new favorite smell.

They reached the steps in no time at all and soon found themselves inside the school. Harry allowed Luna to lead him towards her common room. When they reached it, Luna pulled the cloak off herself.

"Good night, Harry," she said in her usual dreamy voice.

"Night, Luna. Sweet dreams," he said in an equally dreamy voice. He gathered the cloak around him and made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt like he was walking on air the whole way there, and when he finally laid down in his bed, he laid there for hours debating over how to ask Luna to the dance.

-

Harry awoke the next morning at the crack of dawn. He stood up and stumbled to the window. A pale pink and golden glow lit the sky. Harry couldn't help but think of Luna when he saw it. Her hair was the exact same shade of gold, and just as beautiful. Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes. He had been up until the late hours of the morning thinking about Luna.

Across the room, Ron gave an exceptionally loud snore and Harry was pulled out of his trance. _Why does Ron always have to snore at the worst times? _Harry thought to himself and then stood up. As long as he was awake he might as well go get some breakfast.

He got dressed and climbed down the stairs of the boy's dormitory and then out the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. The halls of Hogwarts were strangely silent at this hour of the morning. Harry walked quietly down to the Great Hall, where only a couple of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were seated at their tables. He was the first Gryffindor down for breakfast.

Harry filled his plate with sausages and eggs, but was too anxious to eat. He chased his sausages around his plate instead.

"Hello, Harry," a familiar dreamy voice called out.

"H…Hello, Luna," Harry managed to choke out. He turned to look at her and placed his elbow straight into the butter dish. His cheeks flushed brighter than his best friend's hair, which is saying something since Harry never blushes. Luna was staring off in space, however, and didn't seem to notice

"Same time tonight, Harry?" she asked.

"Y…yeah," he stuttered.

"See you then," she said and glided across the room to take a seat at the Ravenclaw table. She pulled out the latest issue of _The Quibbler_ and was soon absorbed within its pages.

"Hiya, Harry!" Ginny said as she sat down next to Harry, who suddenly realized that his elbow was still in the butter dish.

"Hey, Ginny," he said and quickly pulled his elbow out of the dish. He rolled up his sleeve in hopes that no one would notice. Ginny, meanwhile, was laughing her head off.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked as he sat down next to Harry. Hermione sat down across from him.

"Oh, nothing," she said and winked at Harry.

"Right…." Ron said, "and since when are you Miss Cheerful this early in the morning?"

"Since today I get to go to Hogsmeade," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh ya," Ron said and was obviously more cheerful after that.

"Let's make a stop at Honeyduke's. I'm out of sugar quills," Harry said

"Me too, and I'm running low on my supply of Dudley Dung Bombs," Ron said. Harry laughed. The twin's business had grown rapidly over the summer and they had decided to extend their business to Hogsmeade. Their newest product, Dudley Dung Bombs, had been a huge hit among students at Hogwarts. These bombs were exactly like dung bombs, except they targeted a single person instead of an area and smelled much worse.

"Ron! You are a Prefect!" Hermione snapped.

"So? That doesn't mean I can't have a little fun!" he snapped back, and the two were soon in a full-fledged argument.

"Would you two just knock it off for one day at least?" Harry begged after their voices had risen so loud that you could hear them all the way in the Gryffindor Tower from here.

"Sorry mate," Ron muttered and they both grew quiet.

"Shall we go?" Harry said. Many of the others were getting up to go to Hogsmeade. They nodded and made their way to the gates.

It was a beautiful day outside-perfect for a Hogsmeade weekend. It was slightly cold outside, but nothing a sweater and a pair of earmuffs couldn't cure. There was a thin layer of pure white snow on the ground that sparkled under the fiery sun. The trio walked along in silence, just appreciating the beauty of the outdoors.

Harry stopped in front of Honeyduke's. "Can we go in here?" he asked, and Ron and Hermione both nodded. The three ducked inside the door and found that, not surprisingly, it was decorated for Valentine's Day: pink and red hearts dangled from the ceiling, heart-shaped boxes of candy lined the shelves, mini cupids under magic spells flew around the store shooting fake arrows.

They spent a great deal of time in there, and when they finally left the store their pockets were considerable lighter. They made their way to the Three Broomsticks to take a break and get a butterbeer.

Upon entering the store, Harry immediately spotted Neville, Ginny, and Luna seated in a corner. Ginny spotted them and waved them over.

"Hey, guys," Harry said as he took a seat next to Neville. Ron went to go get butterbeers and returned a few minutes later with them. All six of them were sitting there talking when Seamus approached their table.

"Hey everyone" he said.

"Hey, Seamus," Harry greeted. "Having fun?"

"Yeah, Hogsmeade is really special around Valentine's Day," he replied. "Speaking of Valentine's Day, who are all of you going to the dance with?"

"I don't have a date," Harry said, and Neville, Ginny, and Luna nodded in reply. Ron was to busy glaring at Seamus, who was eyeing Hermione hopefully.

"So…if that's the case….Hermione, will you go to the dance with me?" he asked.

"Well, I umm….I…I can't," she stuttered, clearly taken aback by the question.

"And why can't you!" he snapped, glaring at her. Harry was frightened by how his friend could change moods so quickly.

Hermione said nothing, just opened and closed her mouth. She looked terrified, while Seamus looked as if he would attack her if she didn't say anything.

"She can't go with you because she's going with me!" Ron blurted out, and then blushed as everyone turned to stare at him.

"Oh," Seamus said, and turned and ran from the bar. 

Harry, Neville, and Ginny were still staring at Ron and Hermione, who were blushing profusely.

"How come you didn't tell me?" Harry questioned Ron.

"Cause we aren't….unless you want to, Hermione?" Ron looked at her hopefully.

"Well, sure, why not?" Hermione blushed and Ron smiled.

"It's about time," Ginny muttered under her breath, but only so Neville and Harry could hear.

It was getting late, so they all decided to start walking back to the castle, but not before making a stop at the twin's shop. There, the twins gave them discounts on their latest items, which made Harry and Ron very pleased but really irked Hermione.

"We're prefects, Ron!" she said when Ron told her she needed to loosen up.

"Ron's right, Hermione, you need to have some fun in your life," Ginny laughed and handed her a brown package.

"What's this?" she asked, holding the package cautiously.

"Just open it," Ginny said, still laughing. Hermione gave her a wary look, but unwrapped the package and revealed a heart-shaped box.

"What's this?" she asked again and held up the box.

"Go on, open it!" Ginny urged. She slid the top off of the box and a puff of pink smoke filled the air. When the smoke cleared, a huge red heart appeared over Hermione. Inside the heart was a message: _Hermione + Ron Forever. _

By this time, Ginny was doubled-over laughing along with Harry, Neville, and Luna. Hermione and Ron both blushed as red as the heart, but soon began to laugh along with the rest. It took several minutes for them to stop laughing long enough to talk.

"I am going to get you, Ginny! " Hermione screeched when she finally caught her breath.

"Not if you can't catch me!" she jeered, and ran off down the road with Hermione chasing him. The others ran after them.

-

Later that night, Harry approached the lake and sat down at the edge of it. The sun had just begun to set and the sky was filled again with beautiful colors, but Harry found himself longing for another beauty: Luna. He sat there waiting for her, and just when the sun was only half-way visible over the horizon, he heard her voice calling to him.

"Evening, Harry," she said.

"Hey, Luna. Glad you could make it," he said. She sat down next to him and stared out over the lake. She was immediately at ease, but that wasn't the case with Harry. He was still trying to muster up the courage to ask Luna to the dance.

"Did you know that the colors of the sunset were created many centuries ago by a group of witches who called themselves the Rainbow Tribe," Luna informed him in her dreamy voice.

"I…I didn't know that," Harry said.

"Yes, they lived right before the first magical world war nearly four thousand years ago. They sensed a war coming, yet they wanted to preserve a part of the peaceful world they lived in forever. They all gathered together one day, a few hours before the start of the war, and preserved the colors of their world in sunsets so that everyone who came after them could always have proof that the world isn't all bad," she explained.

"Well, it worked," Harry said, and they both went back to gazing at the sunset.

"Aww….its Potter and Loony! Such a cute couple!" an all-too familiar voice jeered.

"Nobody invited you here, Malfoy," Harry spat at him.

"Nobody said I couldn't come here either," he said.

"I just did!" Harry snarled and stood up. He clutched his wand in his hand.

"Nasty temper you got there, Potter. You might want to work on controlling that. I don't think Miss I'm-as-loony-as-my-radish-earrings would like her boyfriend to be in Azkaban," Malfoy sneered.

"Shut up, Malfoy, or I'll put you in St. Mungo's before you can say quidditch, got it?" Harry threatened.

"How cute! Potter's trying to act big and bad in front of his little girlfriend!" Malfoy snickered.

"That's it! You're dead, Malfoy!" Harry spat and aimed his wand at Malfoy. There was a flash of light, and Malfoy was suddenly stumbling around on jelly legs. Malfoy reached for his wand, but Luna was quicker.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, and Malfoy's wand flew out of his hand. Harry cast another curse at Malfoy, whose hair turned to huge red radishes. He turned to run, but Luna stopped him.

"Percificus Totalus!" she exclaimed, and his arms and legs snapped together. He fell to the ground with a thunk.

"Harry! Luna! What did you just do!" a histerical voice called over the grounds. Harry looked up and groaned as he saw Hermione running towards him.


	2. Lockhart and Luna

**Sorry about the delay, but I'm a procrastinator! A HUGE procrastinator! I'll try to update sooner next time, but no promises. We're starting to get more and more homework everyday. Anyway, here's the second chapter of my story, enjoy!**

"He deserved it," Harry said, glaring at the unconscious Malfoy.

"You shouldn't have done that, Harry. You really shouldn't have done that," Hermione told him.

"Yes I should have. And it doesn't matter now. Let's just leave him here and go to bed," he said bitterly and started to walk back to the school.

"We CANNOT just leave him here!" Hermione hissed.

"We CAN and we WILL!" He yelled.

"Calm down, Harry! Malfoy's never gotten you this worked up before. What did he do?" she questioned.

"He…..he…..you don't want to know," Harry snapped.

"Fine, but I have to help him," she said.

"Whatever, just make sure I'm well away from him when you do," he said and turned to walk to the castle. He noticed that Luna had already left, which made his heart drop. He had been looking forward to smelling her hair again.

Harry left Hermione to deal with Malfoy and made his way up the steps to the Gryffindor Common Room. He went straight to bed, ignoring Ron's questions about what had happened and where Hermione was.

The next morning, Harry woke up to find everyone already down in the common room. He got dressed quickly and then climbed down the stairs to the common room. Ron and Hermione were sitting on the couch talking when he entered. He approached them and sat down on the couch.

"Hey guys," he said.

"Hey Harry," Ron said, while Hermione glared at him.

"What spells did you use on Malfoy last night?" she growled.

"I donno, why?" he asked.

"I couldn't get him to wake up for a good hour last night and his hair is still in the form of radishes!" she snapped at him. Harry laughed, but quickly turned it into a cough when he saw the glare on her face.

"So, er, Harry, who are you going to the dance with?" Ron asked quickly, sensing trouble.

"Well, umm, no one yet," he replied.

"Why don't you go with Ginny?" Ron suggested.

"Ginny's great and all, but…." he said but was cut off by an angry Ron.

"But what? But she's a Weasley and a Weasley isn't good enough for you? But she's too poor? But I can't be seen with dirt like her? But…" he went into a rampage, but was stopped by Ginny.

"BUT I already have a date, Ronald!" she snapped and then looked thoughtfully at Harry. "And besides, I think Harry has his eye on someone else." Ginny sat down on the couch next to Harry.

"You do? Who? Wait-Harry who do u want to ask?" Ron stuttered in shock.

"How did you know, Gin?" Harry asked.

"Oh please, who invented the whole elbow-in-the-butter-dish thing? The way you look at her gives it away too, and then how you defended her last night," she informed him.

"Am I really that obvious?" he sighed and rested his head on his hands.

"Yep," Ginny said.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Ron exclaimed.

"Ron, you are so thick!" Hermione snapped.

"You know too? Just tell me who it is!" he said.

"It's Luna!" Hermione spat.

"Luna? But she's, well, Luna!" Ron said in disbelief.

"Yes, Ron! I like Luna!" Harry shouted, and the whole common room went silent. Harry blushed bright red as everyone's eyes turned to him. He turned and ran from the room.

"Great job Ron!" Ginny snapped and then turned to follow him, but Hermione held her back.

"Just let him go. Chances are, you'll just make it worse," she said.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm going to go get some breakfast," Ginny said and left, leaving Hermione screaming at Ron.

Meanwhile, Harry found himself running down the staircase and through the halls of Hogwarts. He didn't know where he was running to, but he knew he'd know when he got there. He ran around a corner, and suddenly found himself sprawled out over the ground. He searched frantically for his glasses. He found them a few feet to the right and put them on. His vision now much clearer, he could see that he had run straight into Professor Lockhart.

"Professor, I'm so sorry," Harry said as he helped Lockhart up. He gathered up the teacher's books stacked them into a neat pile. As he handed Lockhart the books, he noticed an envelope on top addressed to Cupid Inc. The professor noticed Harry's gaze, and quickly hid the envelope under his books.

"It's quite alright, Harry. Be careful in the future or you might end up in the Hospital Wing," he said.

"I will. Professor, what was that envelope about?" Harry questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing…just...well, I might as well tell you. I'm arranging for the cupids to come on Valentine's Day like they did last year! Isn't that exciting?" Professor Lockhart exclaimed. Harry's face turned bright red in remembrance of his second year. A brilliant idea suddenly consumed him and a smile lit his face.

"That's great professor! How do you get the cupids to deliver a message for you?" he asked curiously.

"Well, you right down what you want to say and then drop it in a box in my classroom," Lockhart explained. "I'd best be going, Harry. Oh, and please keep this a secret. We don't want the whole school knowing this, now do we?" He winked at Harry and then continued walking in the direction that Harry had come from.

"That lunatic is good for something after all!" Harry said to himself as he made his way to the Great Hall. He was remembering the Valentine that Ginny had sent him during his second year and was hoping she could help him come up with one for Luna.

Harry opened the doors to the Great Hall and found his friends sitting near the middle of the Gryffindor Table. He sat down next to Ginny.

"Ginny, I need your help," he said, frantically.

"Sure, Harry. What do you need?" she said. He opened his mouth to explain, but noticed that Parvati and Lavender were nearby and would surely listen in. The last thing he wanted was the controllers of the Hogwarts gossip hotline to hear.

"Meet me in the Room of Requirements in one hour," he whispered and then disappeared out of the hall.

An hour later, Harry was seated in an over-stuffed arm chair in the Room of Requirements when he heard three loud knocks on the door.

"Come in," he shouted, and the door opened up to reveal the youngest Weasley. She entered the room and shut the door behind her.

"So what do you need help with, Harry?" she asked, sitting down in an arm chair identical to the one Harry was sitting in. He quickly explained about the cupids and what he wanted to do.

"Sure, I'll help you!" Ginny said happily. She pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill and ink. "Now, where do we begin?"

Ginny and Harry spent the next hour struggling to come up with a poem. Each time they got one, Harry would claim that it wasn't good enough for Luna. Finally, they came up with one that wasn't perfect, but it got the message across. After thanking Ginny multiple times for her help, Harry look off with the poem to give it to Lockhart. He placed it into the box and then made his way to the Great Hall.

It was already supper time by the time Harry reached the Great Hall. He found Ron and Hermione sitting near the edge of the Gryffindor table.

"Hey," he said as he sat down across from them.

"Hello Harry. Where's Ginny?" Ron asked.

"She was still in the Room of Requirements when I left. She said something about having to meet someone or something like that," Harry said.

"So what were you guys doing all day?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, nothing…you'll see tomorrow," he replied. Harry ate quickly and then headed up to the common room. He grabbed his invisibility cloak and then took off for the lake. When he got there, Luna wasn't there yet. He sat down on the shore and leaned against the trunk of a tree. After only a few moments, he could hear Luna's voice across the grounds. She was singing.

_I linger in the doorway_

_Of alarm clock screaming monsters calling my name_

_Let me stay_

_Where the wind will whisper to me_

_Where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story_

_In my field of paper flowers_

_And candy clouds of lullaby_

_I lie inside myself for hours_

_And watch my purple sky fly over me_

_Don't say I'm out of touch_

_With this rampant chaos - your reality_

_I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge _

_The nightmare I built my own world to escape_

_In my field of paper flowers_

_And candy clouds of lullaby_

_I lie inside myself for hours_

_And watch my purple sky fly over me_

_Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming_

_Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights_

_Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming_

_The goddess of imaginary light_

Harry's jaw dropped in shock. Luna had such an amazing voice! Harry had never heard that song before, but coming from Luna, it was the greatest song he had ever heard. Luna finally reached the lake and sat down next to Harry. He caught a whiff of the intoxicating vanilla sent in her hair and his stomach did a flip flop.

"H…hi Luna," he stuttered.

"Hello, Harry," she replied in her dreamy voice. She stared out over the lake into the sunset.

Everything around them seemed to freeze, except for the sunset. They sat motionless as the colors of the sunset deepened and became even more beautiful. The only sound was the breaths of Harry and Luna. Before they knew it, the sun had completely disappeared behind the earth, and the stars had begun to appear in the sky.

"Look, there's the big dipper," Harry said, pointing at the constellation.

"There's the Sister of Night," Luna said, pointing to a group of stars.

"Sister of Night? I've never heard of that one before," Harry said.

"It's one of the wizarding constellations, the constellations that only wizards and witches can see. I read all about them in A Wizard's Night," she told him.

"I'll have to check that book out sometime," Harry said, as Luna gave a big yawn. "I think we'd better go to bed now."

"Yes, that'd probably be best," Luna sighed and gave one last glance at the stars before standing up. Harry wrapped the cloak around them and they walked back to their common rooms.

**Disclaimer: I only own Harry Potter in Llama Land…Llama Land is in my imagination….**

**The song is Imaginary by Evanescence.**


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